Method and device for retrieving litter

ABSTRACT

A device for retrieving litter has manually actuated positioning means connected to a litter receptacle holder and a pushing member adapted to be enclosed in an envelope releasably secured about the pushing member. Actuation of the positioning means causes coaction between a litter receptacle mounted in the litter receptacle holder and the enveloped pushing member, so that litter is forced into the litter receptacle and held in the litter receptacle by the pushing surface. While the litter is being held within the litter receptacle by the enveloped pushing member, the envelope is released from about the pushing member and reversed to envelop the opening of the litter receptacle. The litter receptacle can then be manually ejected into the envelope when the positioning means are actuated to move the pushing member away from the litter receptacle.

nited States Patent [191 Dorzan Dec. 11, 1973 METHOD AND DEVICE FORRETRIEVING LITTER [76] lnventor: Peter A. Dorzan, 1 Muir Pl.,

Vauxhall, NJ. 07088 [22] Filed: Apr. 3, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 240,461

[52] US. Cl 294/118, 15/1048, 294/1 R [51] Int. Cl. A471 13/06 [58}Field of Search 294/1 R, 19 R, 55,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,431,008 3/1969 Narita294/55 3,659,891 5/1972 Pettenon et al 294/19 R 3,560,039 2/1971 Gruber294/16 Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerJohnny D. CherryAttorney-Edward R. Weingram [57] ABSTRACT A device for retrieving litterhas manually actuated positioning means connected to a litter receptacleholder and a pushing member adapted to be enclosed in an envelopereleasably secured about the pushing member. Actuation of thepositioning means causes coaction between a litter receptacle mounted inthe litter receptacle holder and the enveloped pushing member, so thatlitter is forced into the litter receptacle and held in the litterreceptacle by the pushing surface. While the litter is being held withinthe litter receptacle by the enveloped pushing member, the envelope isreleased from about the pushing member and reversed to envelop theopening of the litter receptacle. The litter receptacle can then bemanually ejected into the envelope when the positioning means areactuated to move the pushing member away from the litter receptacle.

14 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures METHOD AND DEVICE FOR RETRIEVING LITTERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to devices for retrieving litter and, more particularly, todevices for retrieving animal litter.

2. Description of the Prior Art The problem of quickly and cleanlyremoving litter and especially droppings from animals has long existed.This problem has come to prominence recently, as attention has beenfocused on the large number of domestic pets in urban centers andattempts have been made to pass laws requiring the owners of these petsto clean up after their pets when their pet leaves droppings on publicproperty, such as streets or sidewalks.

Many attempts have been made in the past to provide a convenient methodand apparatus to pick up litter, especially of a semi-solid nature, suchas animal droppings left by pets. Most of these attempts have beenunsuccessful because they required that the person attempting to removethe litter either stoop down and come into close proximity with thelitter to be removed, such as when using a bag and a piece of linoleumto scrape the litter into the bag, or required the use of a long-handleddevice to remove the litter, which device actually came in contact withthe litter and, thereby, become so dirty that it was necessary to washthe device before it could be hygienically stored until its next use.Additionally, the problem of disposing of the litter to be retrieved wasnever effectively overcome, since very often the litter could not becleanly and completely placed within the litter receptacle withouthaving some of the litter inadvertently deposited on the outside of thelitter receptacle, so that the person attempting to dispose of thelitter very often got the litter on his hands or clothing. Further, manyearlier devices were not-able to place the litter in a closed container,so that these devices could not be practically used unless there was alarge depository for the litter very close to the spot where the litterhad been dropped.

Another problem with earlier devices was that the user of the device hadto employ both of his hands to operate the device, which made thesedevices totally impractical since a person walking a dog would usuallyhave to use one hand to hold the dog on a leash and, therefore, couldnot effectively employ both his hands to operate the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To overcome the problems set forth, the presentinvention provides a device for retrieving litter and the like which hasmanually actuated positioning means connected to a litter receptacleholder and a pushing member adapted to be enclosed in an envelopereleasably secured about the pushing member. Actuation of thepositioning means causes coaction between a litter receptacle mounted inthe litter receptacle holder and the enveloped pushing member, so thatlitter is forced into the litter receptacle and held in the litterreceptacle by the pushing surface. While the litter is being held withinthe litter receptacle by the enveloped pushing member, the envelope isreleased from about the pushing member and reversed to envelop theopening of the litter receptacle. The litter receptacle can then bemanually ejected into the envelope when the positioning means areactuated to move the pushing member away from the litter receptacle.

Accordingly, in view of the above, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a device for retrieving litter which efficiently,quickly and cleanly removes litter, including semi-soft litter, such asanimal droppings from streets, sidewalks, lawns, and the like.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device forretrieving litter which can be used by a person to remove litter fromthe ground without the person having to stoop or bend.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device forretrieving litter which uses easily disposable receptacles for thelitter.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro vide a device forretrieving litter which places the litter into a closed, sanitarycontainer, which can be disposed of at a later time.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device forretrieving litter which places the litter in a waterproof container toprevent any possibility of leakage or spillage on the operator of thedevice.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device forretrieving litter which can be operated with one hand to retrieve litterfrom the ground.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a devicefor retrieving litter and the like which does not come in contact withany of the litter it retrieves during operation of the device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device forretrieving litter and the like which does not require washing to removelitter from its surfaces after the device is used.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device forremoving litter and the like which is simple and inexpensive tomanufacture and durable in operation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of several embodiments of the invention and the novelfeatures will be particularly pointed out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of alitter retriever built in accordance with-the teachings of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial view of one arm of the device taken along lines 4-4of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side view taken from the lefthand side of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating insertion of a plastic baginto the device.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention, in the open position,ready for scooping up litter.

FIG. 8 shows the device in the closed position with litter pushed intothe container.

FIG. 9 shows a plastic bag being pulled over the litter receptacle.

FIG. 10 shows a receptacle covered with a plastic bag being pushed outof the device.

FIG. 11 shows the removed receptacle enclosed in a plastic bag, ready tobe discarded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5of the drawings, a device for retrieving litter, generally indicated at20, is formed from two arms 22 and 24 respectively, which aresubstantially equal in length and which are connected at a pointsubstantially closer to one of their ends by a pivotal connecting means,such as a rivet 26, to allow the arms to open and close in ascissor-like arrangement. The shorter section of the device is providedwith gripping members 28 and 30 on arms 22 and 24 respectively to formhandle means for opening and closing the longer portion of the arms. Asshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a restraining member 32 is connected to oneof the arms by a pin 34 or any other convenient fastening means andextends to enclose the other arm, so as to limit travel of the other armto a predetermined limit.

Each of the arms includes upper and lower twists 36 and 38 respectivelyin arm 22 and 40 and 42 respectively in arm 24, as shown, to increasethe rigidity of the arm, so that the device can be of fairly lightweight and still have the required rigidity to perform adequately.

The end of arm 22 is connected to a means for holding a litterreceptacle 44 which is in the form of a rectangular member havingsupport surfaces in the form of a top 46 and a bottom 48, and sides 50and 52. The end 54 of arm 22 is bent and twisted to lie on the top 46 oflitter receptacle holder 44 and is rigidly connected to the litterreceptacle holder by riveting, welding or any convenient method ofattachment.

The means for mounting the litter receptacle is adapted to hold anapertured litter receptacle 56, such as a styrofoam cup or any otherconvenient receptacle having side walls 58, bottom 60 and mouth 62. Thedisposable litter receptacle is mounted in the means for mounting thelitter receptacle, with the open end of the litter receptacle facing thepushing member 64.

A pushing member 64 is fastened to the end 66 of the other arm 24 and isalso a four-sided rectangular object having a front wall or pushingsurface 68 and a back wall 70 and lateral walls 72 and 74, and having anopening 76 at the top thereof which forms an envelope holding means intowhich portions of an envelope can be tucked (See FIG. 6). The pushingmember is connected to the end 66 of the arm 24 at the rear wall 70 bymeans of spot welding, riveting or any other convenient method ofconnection.

An envelope or bag 78, having sides 80 and a closed bottom 82, such as apolyethylene bag or another type of suitable, waterproof bag, isreleasably secured about the pushing member 64 by placing the pushingmember into the bag 78 and then tucking the top of sides 80 of the baginto the opening 76 in the top portion of the pushing member, as shownin FIG. 6. The envelope bag then completely protects and envelops thepushing member to prevent any litter from coming in contact with thepushing member and particularly the pushing surface 68.

When a disposable cup or other litter receptacle 58 is placed in thelitter receptacle holder 44, it is deformed by the rectangular walls orsupporting surfaces of the litter receptacle holder so that the open end62 of the litter receptacle is flattened into an elliptical shape, asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This occurs because the vertical dimensionbetween surfaces 46 and 48 is less than the horizontal dimension betweensurfaces 50 and 52. This has an important function, as will be explainedbelow.

It is also important to notice that, as shown in FIG. 2, the aperture 62of the litter receptacle 56 is positioned away from the support surfaces46, 48, 50 and 52 of the litter receptacle holder and, further, becauseof the tapered shape of the litter receptacle and the space between theaperture 62 of the receptacle and the holder 44, the bottom of thelitter receptacle aperture extends slightly below the bottom 48 of thelitter receptacle holder. Since the litter receptacle extends below thelitter receptacle holder, during normal use, the bottom 48 or otherparts of the litter receptacle holder 44 will not come in contact withthe surface on which the litter is lying and, therefore, will not comein contact with any litter which remains after the litter receptacle haspassed over that area.

To insure that the litter receptacle 56 is positioned with the aperture62 spaced from receptacle holder 44, FIGS. 7 through 10 show anotherembodiment of the invention in which a tang extends from the end of arm22 info the open back end 92 of the litter receptacle holder to preventthe litter receptacle 58 from sliding within the litter receptacleholder 44 when the pushing member 64 is held against the aperture 62 ofthe receptacle.

The operation of the device is shown in FIGS. 7 through 10. Arms 22 and24 act as means to position the pushing member 64 and the means 44 forholding the litter receptacle in operative relationship to allowrelative movement of the pushing member litter receptacle holder 44toward and away from each other. As shown in FIG. 7, the device ispositioned with respect to the litter to be retrieved so that the litterreceptacle and the pushing member in the envelope straddle the litter tobe retrieved. This is accomplished by opening the hand grips 28 and 30until the arm 24 is extended fully against restraining member 32. Thisoperation can easily be accomplished by the operator with the use ofonly one hand by grasping one of the hand grips with the fingers andmoving the other hand grip with the thumb or vice-versa.

After the litter receptacle is properly positioned, the handles 28 and30 are drawn together, which, in turn, moves the litter receptacle andthe envelope enclosed pushing member toward each other so that the frontwall or pushing surface 68 of the pushing member will push the litterinto the litter receptacle 58 (See FIG. 8). It should be noted at thispoint that the length from pivot 26 to the bottom 48 of receptacleholder 44 and the length to the bottom 84 of pushing surface 64 aresubstantially equal in length, so that the bottom of open end 62 of thedisposable litter receptacle 58 which has been deformed to an oval shapeas mentioned above, will very closely coincide with the exact bottom 84of the pushing member 68. Therefore, the bottom of the open end of thedisposable litter receptacle is positioned with respect to the bottomend 84 of the pushing surface member so that when the device is in use,there will be no space between the ground and either the bottom ofaperture 62 of receptacle 56 or the pushing surface 68, which spacewould enable litter to escape being pushed into the disposable littercontainer.

By deforming the open mouth 62 of the cup, a greater surface area of thecup is kept in contact with the ground to even further increase the areawhich will be cleaned by a single operation of the litter retriever.

Further, the pushing surface 68 and the support surfaces are disposed sothat the entire edge of the aperture 62 of a receptacle 56 is in contactwith the envelope covered pushing surface, thereby preventing anyspillage or seepage of the litter when the litter retrieving device isheld in the closed position.

As shown in FIG. 8, after the litter retrieving device has been placedin the closed position, it can be temporarily held in that positionuntil the operator is able to conveniently remove the disposable littercontainer from the device. For example, if the operator had a dog on aleash and the dog was pulling or in another way being difficult tohandle, then the operator could temporarily carry the litter in thedisposable container with the litter retriever in the closed positionuntil he was able to get the dog under control.

The removal of the disposable litter container is done conveniently andcleanly, without the person using the device ever having to touch orcome in contact with the litter, or even having to touch the disposablelitter container. As shown in FIGS. 9 through 11, removal isaccomplished by first lifting out the tucked in upper ends of theenvelope 78 from the envelope holding member and then reversing theenvelope so that it is drawn over and around the disposable litterreceptacle, as shown in FIG. 9. Therefore, the areas of contact betweenthe envelope and the litter receptacle which were used to sweep thelitter into the disposable litter receptacle are now on the inside ofthe envelope and access is not easily obtained to them. As shown inFlGllO, after the envelope is drawn around the disposable littercontainer, the litter container is pushed out of the litter holder, andthe envelope is grasped on its outer, clean side to pull the litterreceptacle out of the litter receptacle holder. The bag is then sealed,as shown in FIG. 11, to envelop the litter and the disposable litterreceptacle in a sanitary, easily disposed of package, which iscompletely odor-free.

As shown in FIG. 1, one of the arms, in this case arm 22, has a smalltang 94 extending upward from the arm to form a holder for spare cupsand bags which can, therefore, be conveniently stored on the device.

There are several distinct advantages to the use of this device byowners of domestic pets, such as dog owners. Properly used, the deviceshould never come in contact with any of the litter which it is used toretrieve, since only the disposable litter retriever and the envelopeitself come in contact with the litter. Therefore, the device does notneed washing or rinsing after every use and remains in a state ofacceptable hygienic condition. Accordingly, it can be kept with theleash for the pet, so that it can be conveniently taken whenever the petis taken out for a walk.

Additionally, the device can easily be used with one hand, so that theuser does not have to fear that his pet will be uncontrolled or have tobe tied up to some hitching post or other restraining means when he isusing the litter retriever.

Further, the materials used in the operation of the device are readilyavailable. It has been found that standard 9-ounce or IO-ounce styrofoamcups have worked exceedingly well, along with readily obtainedpolyethylene bags.

it will be understood that various changes in the details, materials andarrangements of parts which have herein been described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by thoseskilled in the art, within the principles and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A method of retrieving litter and the likecomprising the steps of:

enclosing a pushing surface in an envelope to prevent litter fromcontacting the pushing surface;

inserting an apertured litter receptacle in means for holding a litterreceptacle, with the aperture facing the pushing surface;

moving apart the means for holding a litter receptacle and the pushingsurface to position the litter receptacle and the envelope astride thelitter to be retrieved;

moving the pushing surface and the means for holding' a litterreceptacle toward each other until the envelope is in contact with andcloses the aperture of the litter receptacle, so that the litter to beretrieved between the envelope and the litter receptacle will enter theaperture of the litter receptacle and be held therein by the envelopecovered pushing surface;

reversing the envelope to remove it from about the pushing surface andplace it about the litter receptacle;

ejecting the litter receptacle from the means for holding a litterreceptacle into the envelope;

closing the envelope about the litter receptacle to seal the litterreceptacle and the litter therein within the envelope. 2. The method ofretrieving litter and the like according to claim 1 further comprising,before the step of moving the pushing surface and the means for holdinga litter receptacle toward each other, the step of securing the envelopein position about the pushing surface.

3. The method of retrieving litter and the like according to claim 2,wherein the step of ejecting the litter receptacle from the means forholding a litter receptacle includes the moving of the pushing surfaceand the means for holding a litter receptacle away from each other. 7

4. The method of retrieving litter and the like according to claim 3,wherein the steps of spacing apart the litter receptacle holder andpushing surface consists of pivoting the pushing surface and the meansfor holding a litter receptacle about a common pivot point.

5. The method of retrieving litter and the like according to claim 4wherein the step of inserting the apertured litte? receptacle in themeans for holding a litter receptacle includes deforming the aperture ofthe litter receptacle to increase the area of the aperture adjacent theend of the pushing surface remote from the common pivot point.

6. Apparatus for retrieving litter and the like comprising:

means to hold a litter receptacle; a pushing member having a pushingsurface; means to position the pushing surface and the means to hold alitter receptacle in operative relation to allow the relative movementof the pushing surface and the means to hold a litter receptacle towardand away from each other, so the pushing surface can be brought to bearagainst a litter receptacle placed in the means to hold a litterreceptacle;

means to releasably secure an envelope about the pushing surface; and

said means to hold a litter receptacle comprise:

a plurality of support surfaces adapted to receive an apertured litterreceptacle and hold the litter receptacle with the aperture of thereceptacle in operative position to contact the pushing surface; and

said means to hold a litter receptacle constructed and arranged so thata litter receptacle held in said holder will be removed by movement ofthe receptacle toward said pushing surface.

7. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 6wherein the positioning means comprise:

a first arm connected at one end to the means to hold a litterreceptacle;

a second arm operatively connected at one end thereof to the pushingsurface;

means pivotally connecting the first and second arms at a pointintermediate the ends thereof; and

the other end of the first and second arms forming handle means toposition the pushing surface and the means for holding a litterreceptacle with respect to each other.

8. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 7wherein the pushing member includes the means to secure an envelopeabout the pushing surface.

9. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 8wherein the means to releasably secure an envelope about the pushingsurface comprise an aperture in the pushing member adapted to tuck in aportion of an envelope placed about the pushing member.

10. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim9 wherein:

the pushing member comprises the pushing surface; and at least onesupport member connected to the pushing surface; and the second arm isconnected at one end to one of the pushing surface and a support memberof the pushing member.

11. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim7 wherein the means to hold the litter receptacle further comprisepositioning means to properly position a litter receptacle within themeans to hold the litter receptacle.

12. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim7 wherein the plurality of support surfaces adapted to receive anapertured litter receptacle are spaced vertically and horizontally withthe horizontal spacing larger than the vertical spacing so that when anycup-shaped litter receptacle is held within the plurality of supportsurfaces, the aperture of the cup will be elongated in the horizontaldirection and compressed in the vertical direction.

13. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim13 wherein the positioning means further comprise restraining meansconnected to one of the first and second arms and operatively associatedwith the other of the first and second arms to prevent excessiverelative movement between the first and second arms.

14. The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim13 wherein one of the first and second arms includes means for holdingadditional litter receptacles.

1. A method of retrieving litter and the like comprising the steps of:enclosing a pushing surface in an envelope to prevent litter fromcontacting the pushing surface; inserting an apertured litter receptaclein means for holding a litter receptacle, with the aperture facing thepushing surface; moving apart the means for holding a litter receptacleand the pushing surface to position the litter receptacle and theenvelope astride the litter to be retrieved; moving the pushing surfaceand the means for holding a litter receptacle toward each other untilthe envelope is in contact with and closes the aperture of the litterreceptacle, so that the litter to be retrieved between the envelope andthe litter receptacle will enter the aperture of the litter receptacleand be held therein by the envelope covered pushing surface; reversingthe envelope to remove it from about the pushing surface and place itabout the litter receptacle; ejecting the litter receptacle from themeans for holding a litter receptacle into the envelope; closing theenvelope about the litter receptacle to seal the litter receptacle andthe litter therein within the envelope.
 2. The method of retrievinglitter and the like according to claim 1 further comprising, before thestep of moving the pushing surface and the means for holding a litterreceptacle toward each other, the step of securing the envelope inposition about the pushing surface.
 3. The method of retrieving litterand the like according to claim 2, wherein the step of ejecting thelitter receptacle from the means for holding a litter receptacleincludes the moving of the pushing surface and the means for holding alitTer receptacle away from each other.
 4. The method of retrievinglitter and the like according to claim 3, wherein the steps of spacingapart the litter receptacle holder and pushing surface consists ofpivoting the pushing surface and the means for holding a litterreceptacle about a common pivot point.
 5. The method of retrievinglitter and the like according to claim 4 wherein the step of insertingthe apertured litter receptacle in the means for holding a litterreceptacle includes deforming the aperture of the litter receptacle toincrease the area of the aperture adjacent the end of the pushingsurface remote from the common pivot point.
 6. Apparatus for retrievinglitter and the like comprising: means to hold a litter receptacle; apushing member having a pushing surface; means to position the pushingsurface and the means to hold a litter receptacle in operative relationto allow the relative movement of the pushing surface and the means tohold a litter receptacle toward and away from each other, so the pushingsurface can be brought to bear against a litter receptacle placed in themeans to hold a litter receptacle; means to releasably secure anenvelope about the pushing surface; and said means to hold a litterreceptacle comprise: a plurality of support surfaces adapted to receivean apertured litter receptacle and hold the litter receptacle with theaperture of the receptacle in operative position to contact the pushingsurface; and said means to hold a litter receptacle constructed andarranged so that a litter receptacle held in said holder will be removedby movement of the receptacle toward said pushing surface.
 7. Theapparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 6wherein the positioning means comprise: a first arm connected at one endto the means to hold a litter receptacle; a second arm operativelyconnected at one end thereof to the pushing surface; means pivotallyconnecting the first and second arms at a point intermediate the endsthereof; and the other end of the first and second arms forming handlemeans to position the pushing surface and the means for holding a litterreceptacle with respect to each other.
 8. The apparatus for retrievinglitter and the like according to claim 7 wherein the pushing memberincludes the means to secure an envelope about the pushing surface. 9.The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 8wherein the means to releasably secure an envelope about the pushingsurface comprise an aperture in the pushing member adapted to tuck in aportion of an envelope placed about the pushing member.
 10. Theapparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 9wherein: the pushing member comprises the pushing surface; and at leastone support member connected to the pushing surface; and the second armis connected at one end to one of the pushing surface and a supportmember of the pushing member.
 11. The apparatus for retrieving litterand the like according to claim 7 wherein the means to hold the litterreceptacle further comprise positioning means to properly position alitter receptacle within the means to hold the litter receptacle. 12.The apparatus for retrieving litter and the like according to claim 7wherein the plurality of support surfaces adapted to receive anapertured litter receptacle are spaced vertically and horizontally withthe horizontal spacing larger than the vertical spacing so that when anycup-shaped litter receptacle is held within the plurality of supportsurfaces, the aperture of the cup will be elongated in the horizontaldirection and compressed in the vertical direction.
 13. The apparatusfor retrieving litter and the like according to claim 13 wherein thepositioning means further comprise restraining means connected to one ofthe first and second arms and operatively associated with the other ofthe first and second arms to prevent excEssive relative movement betweenthe first and second arms.
 14. The apparatus for retrieving litter andthe like according to claim 13 wherein one of the first and second armsincludes means for holding additional litter receptacles.